No Democracy in Jesus

We had a wonderful snow storm on Tuesday. It made a great excuse to stay inside and watch all of the incredible happenings in Washington, D.C. There on the steps of the Capitol and in the crowd on the Mall, we had a marvelous demonstration of the power of democracy. Obama was elected by the people. The people had come to share in the celebration.

Later on the news that night WRAL reported a story about a wild snow ball fight at East Carolina. It was reported that more than 200 students engaged in this frenetic and chaotic event. More and more students joined. The students continued to find more and more snow balls, hunks of ice, slush balls, and to push ice blocks off of window ledges. At one point the campus police were sent in to restore order and to bring the rampage under control. As the story was being told, YouTube film was being shown of the students and their snowball fight. Then YouTube film of the police arresting a student and forcibly moving others around. Immediately after the fight a number of students claimed that the police over reacted. In one sense, all this was not new. We have seen these scenes before. What was a most surprising next step was that Pam Saulsby asked the viewers to email the station with their opinion as to whether or not too much force had been used by the police. From that one little bit of YouTube film we were asked to make our opinion known as to whether or not too much force had been used by the police.

Such is the logical development of our democratic ideals. We are all equal and so every opinion is as important as any. My opinion about how much force is needed to control a student melee is equal to the chief of security at East Carolina whose career has been in crowd control and safety? Your opinion is as just as good as the opinion of the police officer on the scene with students throwing snow balls at him?

Not only are all opinions now made the same, we will pile them all together and claim that the 50,000 viewers who email in are more important than the 10 campus security people who have been hired to protect all the students.

The amazing thing is that in many ways we think that this equality of all of us and thus the equality of our opinions and our votes is something that is in harmony with our discipleship with Jesus. Jesus came demanding that we follow him. Jesus talked about there being "truth" and that that truth was to be followed even when all of the other opinions were against us. Jesus talked about being a King to whom loyalty and allegiance was expected and His vision was the vision that mattered and not our own opinion. Jesus did not seem very interested in concept that everybody's opinion was as good as anybody else's and he certainly was not willing to say that majority rules. Not when the majority wanted Barrabus.

I like Democracy when it gives me Obama. I did not like Democracy when it gave me Bush. I certainy do not want to have the kind of community where those who are experts and educated have no more importance than the garbage collectors. I do not want my physical health to be put to a vote of the citizens of Henderson. Jesus never suggested that everybody's version of the Kingdom of Heaven was acceptable and he never indicated that the Kingdom would be run by a majority vote.